Teeth/Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen: Howl “This is absolutely humiliating. Why did I have to be wearing a skirt?” The camera was zoomed in close to Monique’s face. Her expression was one of utter disgust, her eyebrows knotted and her lips snarled. The shot panned out to reveal that she had a death grip on a pole lying horizontally over one hundred feet in the air. She had her arms and legs wrapped around this stupid thing for such a long time, and now she was only a couple of yards away from her door. Monique continued inching her way along the pole, fully aware of the fact that if she let go she would probably fall to her death. She knew that most shows would have included a safety net with the distance, but Total Drama was not exactly quality programming. This gave her the motivation to reach the other side of the gap. Finally, the trendsetter was able to crawl off of the rod and onto a solid stone surface jutting from the tower. Monique got to her feet, elbowing the cameraman aside so she could attempt to unlock her door. “I am not in the mood for games, so whoever my prey is had better be cooperative!” The dark-skinned girl wasn’t sure if she was talking to herself or the cameraman as she slid her key into the lock. She then burst through the door, eager to be done with her part of the challenge. Isaac sat on the floor against the far wall, his eyes closed. He stretched his arms out at his sides and yawned. Monique gaped. “Were… were you sleeping?” “I was until you barged in here.” The troublemaker got to his feet and cracked his neck. “Stone is not a very good substitute for a mattress.” “You were sleeping during the challenge?” “How many times do I have to say it? Yes.” Isaac repeated. “You took too long.” The trendsetter sneered. “Do you even know how hard it was to get here?” “By the look on your face I’m guessing extremely hard?” Monique rolled her eyes at him and pulled her fangs out of a pocket. Isaac laughed as she popped them into her mouth, experimentally clamping her jaw a few times. “What are you going to do with those?” “Bite you, of course.” “Now that’s not good entertainment.” Isaac gestured to the camera on the wall. “I think you should try something a little less boring.” “What were you expecting?” “I don’t know, a hot vampire? Isn’t it the point for vampires to be sexy?” Monique stared blankly as Isaac made an odd circular hip motion. As he continued to pelvis thrust, her expression went from blank to irritated, then irritated to furious. In a few quick movements her hand smacked against his cheek with a sickening crack. The troublemaker yelped, his hand rising to clutch his cheek. The fashionista grabbed the hand and bit him right between his thumb and his wrist. Isaac cursed and shook out his hand but it was too late. Monique had actually left a bite mark. “You little-” The blond began spouting a stream of expletives. The fashionista just yawned. “It’s not anything I haven’t heard before.” A door audibly unlocked across the room. She gave the camera a mischievous wave before exiting the tower, thankful that there were stairs this time. Confession Cam Isaac: “Doesn’t she know she wasn’t supposed to actually draw blood?” The slacker removed a bag of ice from his hand and showed the camera the crescent-shaped bite mark. “I’ve heard of battle scars, but this is just ridiculous!” The door swung open from the downstairs room of the castle. Irina stepped out with a casual grin on her face, a pair of red dots on her neck indicating that her vampire had been successful. She found that a ladder had been set up for her to return to the front room of the castle. As she began to climb the ladder, Paul stumbled from the room. His face was flushed red and his eyes seemed glassy. He fixed the collar of his shirt and then continued after her up the ladder. They walked in silence through the halls of the castle, which was awkward for Paul but rather funny for Irina. They were stopped, however, by what seemed like a disembodied voice. “What happened with you two?” The model and do-gooder looked around for the source of the sound but could not find it. “Up here, geniuses, and don’t look up my skirt.” Above them, Avery was balancing between two window sills, one bare foot on each. She had her arms outstretched to try to keep herself from falling, a heel in each hand. “What are you doing?” Paul asked. “Trying to finish the challenge. My door’s over there.” Not willing to risk moving her hands, Avery nodded towards her door. There was only one window sill separating her and solid ground. “Is there any way we can help?” Irina offered. “Yeah. Take my shoes.” The wedges hurtled down from above. Paul and Irina each caught one and then watched as Avery took a leap to the next windowsill. She caught her balance and then looked down at her teammates. “Be careful with those! They’re expensive!” “Is that all you need?” Irina called up to her friend. “I really don’t see anything else you can do except tell somebody if I fall.” At that, Avery stretched to step onto the next ledge. Irina and Paul flinched as she hopped towards her door, fearing she would plummet to her death. The drama queen had lucked out, though, landing on her knees on the platform in front of her door. Her teammates walked away when she shot them a thumbs up. The diva took out her key and unlocked the door. She strutted into the room, fully confident in the challenge. She had seduction mastered. “Oh, hey there!” Avery frowned. “What are you doing here?” “I’m your prey!” Avery’s confidence crumbled. She had been assigned to bite Minerva. “B-but you’re a girl.” “Yeah.” The blonde nodded rapidly. “Why, is that a problem?” “Kind of.” Avery glared up at the camera in the corner of the room. “Avery Dellcourte does not do girl-on-girl.” “Ooh, that was harsh.” Minerva stated. “Understandable, but harsh.” Avery popped her fangs into her mouth. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?” “Well, I guess if I have to.” Minerva stood in place as Avery approached her. When the drama queen was too near, the loudmouth rushed off in the other direction. Avery groaned and ran after her. She chased the Emmy in circles around the room, shouting insults at her the entire time. Eventually the diva became sick of the games and chose to tackle the quirky girl to the ground. “Finally!” Avery knelt on top of Minerva’s back, holding her arms down with her hands. “Do you remember if it had to be on the neck?” “I’m not telling you!” The blonde exclaimed. Avery rolled her eyes and used one of her hands to smother Minerva’s face onto the dirty floor. “How about now?” “Doesn’t have to be on the neck but it’d probably look better.” “Wonderful.” The drama queen kept Minerva’s face pushed down and flicked her blonde ponytail to the side. She touched the tip of her fangs to her shoulder just light enough to leave the two red marks. Avery got up and headed for the door, dropping her fangs onto the floor and examining her nails in the process. “Let. Me. Go.” Fingernails scraped against the stone floor as Angel scrambled to get out of the pit. A large snake had wrapped around him and was trying to pull him down, but he refused to be trapped there. He had not done well in the last few challenges, so this was going to be the exception. Of course, nature and Angel just never seemed to agree. “Get off of me!” He tried to kick his legs to make the snake unwind from him. This didn’t work, but he dragged himself farther out of the pit. Once his legs were at the edge, he lifted them up and slammed them hard on the ground. This caused the snake to uncoil, hissing in irritation but slithering back into the pit. The pyromaniac waited for feeling to return to his legs and then leapt to his feet. “Finally!” He took his fangs out of his pocket and set them in his mouth. Angel was on his toes as he unlocked the door, remaining vigilant as he slowly stepped into the room. His prey could be anybody. When he saw Risty sitting casually on the other side of the room, he knew he had made the right choice. “You’re my vampire?” The athlete questioned. “Looks like it.” The pyromaniac replied. Risty got to her feet and cracked a few knuckles. “Let’s make this a good fight then, okay?” Confession Cam Angel: “I really wasn’t expecting Risty as my prey, but I’m glad I was being paranoid. That girl is tough!” The pyromaniac’s voice was played over clips spliced together of him and Risty butting heads. “She wanted a fair fight, since she’s a good sport or whatever. And if it stayed that way she would have won… but, of course, I didn’t exactly let it stay that way.” The footage on the screen showed a flurry of hands and feet as the pyromaniac and jock dodged each other’s attacks. When it seemed like Risty had the upper hand, Angel hooked his foot around the back of her knee and tripped her. Her arms flailed at an attempt for balance and she fell, though Angel caught one of her arms on the way down. He planted the bite on her wrist and then helped her back up. The shot then switched back to Angel in the confessional, grinning proudly. “Risty is one of the strongest players in the game. I think beating her should really give me an advantage.” “Welcome back my wonderful undead nightmares.” Chris chuckled at the five triumphant-looking vampires standing in a line in front of him. “…Oh, and you guys.” To his right stood the prey, all looking rather unimpressed with the results. “How was getting the blood sucked out of you?” “Humiliating.” Isaac groaned. “Painful.” Minerva whimpered. “I thought it was fun.” Irina shrugged, earning glares from the other four victims. “Hey, where’s Edmund?” Minerva asked. “He’s watching the footage from each of your deaths.” Chris explained. “He’ll get back to us with the results, but right now I need to start the next challenge-” “Um, don’t you mean I need to start the next challenge?” Rachel Claire entered the room with a coffee in hand. “Oh. Right.” Chris rolled his eyes. “We couldn’t get the actor who plays Daylight's werewolf Jason Brown for this half of the challenge, so Rachel Claire’s in charge.” “It’s about time I get treated properly around here.” The reported scoffed, taking a sip of her beverage. “It’s the werewolves’ turn to sink their teeth into the prey. This challenge is pretty much a giant game of hide-and-go-seek. The prey and the vampires will be hiding around the film set and the werewolves have to catch them. They cannot hide inside any buildings or in the woods. If a werewolf manages to chase down their victim, they need to officially capture them by sticking one of these to them.” Rachel Claire held up a roll of paw print shaped stickers, holding back her laugh at the contestants’ unimpressed reaction. “Sounds easy, right? Well, there’s more. For one thing, this round is timed. The wolves will have forty minutes to catch as many people as possible. Any prey or vampire left standing after the time is up will earn two points for their team’s highest scoring player. Another catch is that the wolves can catch players from both teams. Prey caught from the other team is three points, vampires from the other team and prey from yours are each worth two points, and vampires from your team are worth one. Keep that in mind once time starts getting low. The player with the highest score wins. However, if somebody puts on a good show in the challenge I, the wonderful judge that I am, can award them with five bonus points.” “What are you looking for as ‘a good show’?” Allison asked. Rachel Claire smiled. “I kind of like it when people play dirty.” She tossed a roll of stickers to each of the werewolves and then snapped her fingers. “Well, prey? Vampires? What are you waiting for? Go hide! You have five minutes before we release the wolves.” The vampires and prey took a good look at the werewolves. Other than Allison, they were a pretty unimposing group. The challenge would be a breeze. “-and the floor was so dirty, but she just pushed my face into it. I’m surprised I don’t have a big black mark running up my cheek.” “You look fine.” Minerva and Monique had taken cover behind the building where the music videos had been shot. They sat on the pavement leaning against the building, unaware of how much time had passed since they left the castle. “It was terrible!” The talkative blonde whined. “I think I was attacked-” “Minerva, I don’t get why this bothers you so much.” Monique interrupted. “You said you get bullied all the time!” Minerva’s mouth snapped shut. “Well… yeah, but-” “But nothing. What do you do when somebody bullies you about your sexuality?” “Um… usually I’ll ask them to stop.” “And if they don’t?” “I just kind of take it.” Monique gave her friend a glare of disbelief. “So, let me get this straight. You want them to stop, but you don’t do anything to make them?” “Well…” The trendsetter sighed. “You can’t let people keep pushing you around! You need to learn to stand up for yourself!” “I would, it’s just-” “What are you going to do if somebody starts pushing you around here? Just let them?” Monique crossed her arms. “This is exactly what happened with you and Elena. Everybody can see that, and you’re just going to get used again.” Minerva looked away in shame and was for once speechless. Monique had no idea how right she was. “Are you two done here?” The two Emmys gasped at the new voice and realized that Allison was standing just a few feet away. They tried to run but she grabbed them both by the backs of the shirts. “So that’s two points for you,” The daredevil put a sticker on Monique’s arm and let her go. “And three points for you.” She did the same with Minerva, a grin on her face. “I’m willing to bet I’m already in the lead.” Allison marched in the other direction and Monique stomped her foot. “Ugh! One of these days I’ll actually do well in a challenge!” “Is it okay that we’re here?” “I don’t see anybody stopping us.” Ophelia and Victor walked down the steps to the Team’s Choice Awards amphitheater arm in arm. “You don’t think we should be doing the challenge?” Ophelia questioned. “Nah.” Victor waved his hand. “Wes has it covered for the wolves. Plus, our teammates are pretty fast. I’m sure none of them have been caught yet.” “You’re sure?” “Positive.” The actor assured. He started to step onto the stage, but Ophelia stopped. “What’s wrong?” “The broken stars don’t make you sad?” Ophelia detached herself from Victor and walked in front of the stage. She stared at the smashed stars of the eliminated contestants with a mixed expression. Victor went to stand near her. “They were eliminated for reasons. You didn’t even like most of these people-” “But what about Robert or Zack? They didn’t deserve it.” “You voted for Zack.” Victor pointed out. “Because you told me it was the right thing to do.” Ophelia insisted. “If I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t vote for anybody. I hate seeing people get voted off.” “It’s part of the game, Ophelia. It has to happen. I’m sure only the person who deserves it will get voted off today.” He took her hands in his and stepped close to her. “And you have no reason to worry because it’s not going to be you.” “It’s not me I’m worried about.” The artist’s voice was quiet, almost ashamed. “I just don’t want you to leave.” That was when they heard somebody start running down the stairs. They didn’t break eye contact with each other, but heard the other person stop. “What are you guys doing here?!” Sebastian rushed up to Ophelia and Victor. “You know you’re supposed to be doing the challenge, right?” “See, you’re not going to have to worry about me leaving.” Victor said, giving Ophelia a smile. “I have Sebastian on my side.” “You promise?” Ophelia asked. “Of course I promise.” “Oh, isn’t that sweet.” Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Now you guys need to get out there and catch some Oscars. We’ve lost three challenges in a row, and we can’t afford a fourth.” “You don’t trust your performance as a vampire to hold up?” Victor asked. “Just go and at least try to win.” Sebastian then ran to go find a hiding place. “So what’s with the bite mark on your hand?” “Long story.” “That doesn’t look like an animal bite.” “When I say ‘long story’, I mean I don’t want to talk about.” “Have a little thing with Avery again?” “Shut up.” Isaac shoved Angel, though he was laughing as he did it. “It was Monique.” “A third girl?” Angel snickered. “You sure do get around-” “In the vampire challenge. She thought the neck was too mainstream or something.” Isaac explained. “Where are we going anyway?” "I know a good place to hide.” Angel led his roommate through the sets knowing exactly where he was headed. They weaved through the buildings to keep out of sight in case one of the werewolves decided to actually try in the challenge. “Wait.” Isaac stopped. “Do you hear that?” They both stopped and backed up against the nearby building. They heard footsteps very close to them. They waited in silence until a familiar face ran in front of them breathing heavily. She stopped and caught her breath, and the pair of Oscars relaxed. “Cara!” The nature lover looked over to see Angel and Isaac. “Oh, hey.” “What are you running from?” “I saw Edmund Sullen walking back towards the castle.” Cara lowered her voice. “Don’t tell anyone, but he really scares me. I kind of froze up and then ran from him.” “Understandable.” Isaac agreed. “Do you need any help?” “I think the only way you guys can help is by not getting caught.” Cara said. “I’m kind of on my own for this one.” “Well, if you need us, we’ll be… um…” Isaac turned to Angel. “On top of the jailhouse.” The pyromaniac finished. "Okay then.” Cara headed off in the other direction, looking left and right for anybody. Isaac stared after her, and Angel laughed. Then the slacker noticed that his teammate’s paw print stickers were lying in the dirt. He grabbed the roll and rushed after her. “Cara, wait!” She turned around and he held the roll out to her. “You dropped these.” “Oh, thank you.” Cara took the stickers, but noticed Isaac’s hand in the process. She put the stickers in her pocket and then grabbed his hand with both of hers. “What happened?! What bit you?!” “Monique.” Cara gave him a confused look and Isaac added, “In the challenge.” “That looks like it hurt.” Cara ran her fingers on the red marks. “It kind of looked like an animal bite. I could’ve helped you if that was the case.” “It’s too bad it isn’t.” Cara released his hand and they stood in awkward silence. Eventually the nature lover started to continue walking. “I guess I’ll get going then.” “Yeah. Sure. The challenge. Right.” He watched her retreat again and didn't stop staring until he heard another set of footsteps rushing in his direction. He looked to his right to see a figure running at him. “What…?” Isaac squinted to try and decipher who the figure was. They were coming close. “Is that…?” And they were fast. “Oh crap!” He turned sharply on his heel and ran towards Angel. “What’s going on?” The Puerto Rican teen asked. “Go, man, go!” Isaac pointed in the opposite direction. His roommate didn’t question him, just started to run. After a minute, Angel looked over his shoulder to identify their pursuer. It was Wes. “Nobody mentioned he was fast!” He shouted. “Nobody’s ever seen him run like this!” It was only moments before Isaac had been grabbed by the hood. He fell to the ground, shouting for Angel to keep running. Wes stuck a paw print on the troublemaker’s shoulder. “You were prey, right?” The musician asked. “Unfortunately.” Isaac sighed. “You’re fast.” “Thanks. I run track.” “I don't think you were this fast when we were running towards Chef last challenge.” “I was distracted.” Wes then set off after Angel, and Isaac knew that suddenly The Emmys had a chance at winning this challenge. “Attention contestants!” Chris’s voice rang from a loudspeaker. “We’re fifteen minutes in, and already we have two werewolves with points. So prey and vampires, watch your backs!” The uncaught contestants shifted in their hiding spots. “Other wolves? You’re slacking!” “Ooh, that’s us.” Ophelia grimaced at Victor. “Let’s just hope one of the werewolves with points is Wes.” The drama king replied, leaning against a nearby building. “We don’t even know how many people are out here. We haven’t seen anybody!” He heard Ophelia suppressing a giggle. “What?” She pointed at the top of the building. “Looks like somebody thinks we can’t see them.” A pair of olive skinned legs hung off the side of the wall. “Avery’s on the roof.” Victor grinned. “How do we get up there?” “It must be easy if she was able to do it.” They circled the building looking for a potential path. Eventually they found a ladder attached to the side of the building a few feet above them, a knocked over trash can at the bottom. Ophelia and Victor put the trash can upright and then started to climb onto the roof. When they got to the top, they found Avery sprawled out on the opposite end trying to tan. She had her eyes closed and hadn’t noticed that they were there. “Would you like to do the honors?” Victor whispered. Ophelia nodded and then crept up on the diva. She quietly took a sticker from the roll and put it on the drama queen’s leg. Avery immediately shrieked. “Where did you come from?!” “Surprise!” Ophelia burst into laughter, going over to hug Victor. “We got one!” “I didn’t even hear you guys come up here!” Avery exclaimed, taking the sticker off of her leg and moving it onto her clothes. “You should never shock somebody while they're tanning. Some girls can get aggressive.” She sneered in Ophelia and Victor’s direction. “Of course, by your pastiness I can guess that neither of you has any idea what I’m talking about-” “HELP!” Avery stopped talking and she, Victor, and Ophelia looked over the edge of the building to see Wes knock Angel to the ground. The musician put a sticker on the pyromaniac’s shirt, and Victor and Ophelia cheered. Wes looked up and gave them a wave before running off. “Told you he’d do well.” Victor said to Ophelia. The actor and artist climbed down the ladder and walked away. Avery kept watching, though, as Allison rushed up to Angel from the opposite direction. “What happened?” The daredevil asked, helping her friend to his feet. “Wes. He’s fast.” Angel stated. “I know. I couldn’t shoot him last challenge.” Allison stomped her foot. “He must be the other wolf with points! Who did he get?” “So far, I think just me and Isaac. Who’d you catch?” “Monique and Minerva.” Allison said. “Do you know if anybody else is caught?” “Me!” Avery called down from the roof. “What are you doing up there?” Angel asked. “Tanning.” The pyromaniac shook his head in her direction and turned back to Allison. “As far as I know, everyone else is still safe.” “So other than the wolves, there’s just Paul, Irina, Risty, and Sebastian, right? Just like last challenge.” “No, that’s not right.” Angel had counted on his fingers while Allison spoke. “There were ten people you could catch. Five of us were already caught, so you're missing one.” The two tried to figure out who they were forgetting, trying to list off every member of The Emmys. This gave Avery time to climb down the ladder and meet up with her teammates. “It’s Donna.” “Oh yeah!” Allison nodded. “I forgot about her.” “How could you? She’s your key to getting the bonus points.” “What are you talking about?” Angel questioned. “It’s easy.” The drama queen put a hand on her hip. “Rachel Claire said she likes it when people play dirty. Allison’s biggest competition right now is Wes. If she finds Donna, she can use her as bait and make a scene that Rachel will like.” "I can't believe I'm saying this, but that’s absolutely genius.” Angel admitted. “It’s the tanning.” Avery insisted. “It fuels my brain.” Then the challenge really began to heat up. Because there had never been a location specified for caught contestants to go, Angel and Avery stuck around to help Allison search for Donna. Meanwhile, Cara had managed to finally catch somebody when Risty ran into a dead end. Wes had found Irina and caught her as well, putting him in the lead and leaving only Paul left for The Oscars somewhere on the set. After some time had passed, the loudspeaker crackled to life. “Hello there, competitors,” droned Edmund Sullen’s familiar monotone. “I have come to inform you that you have reached the half hour mark of the challenge. There are only ten minutes left. Congratulations to those who have managed to hide this long.” Cara was frightened by Edmund’s voice, but kept her composure when Allison ran towards her. “Cara, we have a plan!” The daredevil reiterated Avery’s plot to her teammate. “That’s downright evil.” Cara commented. “It’s Avery. What did you expect?” “Good point.” The brunette agreed. “So which part of the film set do you want me to try and cover?” “Pick one.” Cara turned to face the right side of the set, but in the process something caught her eye. “Wait a second…” She rushed over towards the narrow gap between two buildings where she caught a flash of something that just didn’t blend in. When Cara got closer, she realized her suspicion was confirmed. A pair of dark blue boots stuck out from behind an indent in the side of one building. She turned around to call over to Allison, “I fooooound her!” Donna peeked around the corner of the wall. “Oh no!” She started getting up to run, but since she had been sitting there for half of an hour her legs were stiff. Allison caught up to her and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her out of her hiding place. “You are such a pain, do you know that?” Allison asked, putting a sticker on the smart aleck’s jacket. “I get that a lot.” Donna deadpanned. “Now since you’ve put a sticker on me could you let me go?” “No, we’re using you for something better.” Allison then took a deep breath. “OH WEEEEEES! I HAVE SOMETHING YOU MIGHT WANT!” It only took a few seconds for Donna to realize what Allison was trying to do. “Wait! Wes, don’t! I’m fine!” “WEEEEEES! DONNA’S IN NEED OF HELP!” Cara joined in on the screaming. Avery came back from where she was searching for Donna to join her. Eventually Wes ran out from behind a building. “Go away! They’re just trying to make a scene!” Donna screeched. “What took you so long?” Allison asked. “I was catching Paul.” Wes said. “I don’t think there are any Oscars left hiding.” “Then you have time to watch.” Avery grabbed onto the ends of Donna’s hair and pulled. The smart aleck yelped. “I have the worst luck!” The drama queen yanked again, and Donna screeched and squirmed. Wes started to move to help her, but Avery held up a hand. “Oh, no. You stay there or I’ll rip her hair out.” Donna tried to protest as her hair was yanked. “She doesn’t mean it- OW! Okay, maybe she does- AH!” “Oh, please.” The drama queen rolled her eyes. “One time I pulled out a girl’s weave. The thing was sewn onto her head and I ripped it out. I have no problem with this- HEY!” Avery was suddenly pushed to the ground from behind, letting go of Donna’s hair in the process. Somebody stronger than Allison tore her grip from Donna. The smart aleck ran away, and Allison turned to face her attacker. It was Sebastian. “Crap, I forgot about you!” “That was a mistake-” Before he could do anything else, a loud ringing sounded from the loudspeaker above. The microphone crackled, and Rachel Claire’s familiar laugh echoed through the film set. “Looks like the challenge is over, and I liked what I saw. Come back to the castle and we’ll find out who’s getting sent to the Team’s Choice Awards tonight!” The two teams lined up in the front room of the castle. Chris stood in front of them, Rachel Claire and Edmund Sullen at his sides. “Welcome back, contestants.” He had a serious tone to his voice. “It’s been a big day. Edmund has made his decision as to who the best vampire is. Edmund?” The “real” vampire stepped forward. “I looked at all the tapes, and you all gave different approaches to a vampire. There were romantics, monsters, and a little bit of something in between. The best vampire had to show a passion for what they were doing and entertain me at the same time. That’s why I chose Avery as the winner of the first half of the challenge.” The Oscars congratulated Avery, who was genuinely shocked for once. She had thought her performance had been ridiculous. “The second half of the challenge, however, was a different story.” Edmund stepped back and Rachel Claire stepped forward. “We tallied up the scores and they were pretty pitiful. Cara, Ophelia, and Victor, your scores were the lowest of the bunch and didn't count for your team. You respectively got three, two, and zero points. Allison, you scored the highest for The Oscars. By catching one vampire and two prey, you earned a total of eight points.” A few of her teammates muttered nice words to Allison. “Wes, you scored the highest for The Emmys. By catching two vampires and two prey you earned ten points. Add to that the two points earned by Sebastian never being caught while being the hero, and you have a total score of twelve. So you win the second half of the challenge fair and square!” The Emmys cheered for Wes, though they knew they weren’t safe yet. “So what’s the tiebreaker?” Monique asked. Rachel Claire clicked her tongue. “Not so fast. I never said this challenge was a fair one. As I mentioned earlier, I like it when people play dirty. Allison following through on Avery’s evil plan was a display of pure animalistic ruthlessness. Totally in character for a werewolf and totally entertaining. So as the guest judge, I am going to award Allison with the five bonus points. That puts her score at thirteen, meaning The Oscars win the challenge!” The team burst into cheers for their fourth consecutive win. The Emmys sulked. They had to lose another teammate. Confession Cam Avery: “I’d say this was a pretty successful day for me. I won the first half of the challenge, and helped Allison win the second. I think my teammates will finally see why I think I’m the best… it’s because I am!” It was dark when the losing team filed into the Team Choice Awards amphitheater. Chris stood onstage looking disappointed. “Welcome, Emmys, to yet another elimination ceremony. You guys really need to start doing better at challenges. But, hey, look at it this way: at least nobody’s hurt this time.” “Oh, ha ha.” Donna sneered. “That was a bad joke.” “Yeah, I know.” Chris smirked as the camera focused on the Red Carpet of Shame. “Today’s loser will be leaving in true funeral style. They’ll be riding in a high class hearse driven by undead king Edmund Sullen.” The door to the hearse opened up and bats flew out. Edmund, sitting stiffly in the driver’s seat and listening to depressing organ music, didn’t even react. Chris held up a silver star of safety. “First star goes to… Wes. From the bottom to the top. Funny how things work. Next stars go to Monique, our fabulous vampiress, and Minerva and Risty, who were pretty good prey.” The three friends caught their stars, and tensions began to rise at who was still without stars. “This star goes to Donna, our true damsel in distress and… Sebastian, who despite being a hero at the end of the day still managed to get a vote against him.” “I wonder who that would be from…” Sebastian narrowed his eyes in Donna’s direction, though she wasn’t paying attention. She was too distracted by the bottom two. Victor and Ophelia sat side by side and starless. Victor looked terrified, his hand clamped around Ophelia’s. No matter who went home, this would be terrible for him. Ophelia, however, was completely silent. She sat up straight and didn’t even seem to be breathing, her eyes blankly staring off at a random point in space. “The final star goes to… “Ophelia.” Chris threw her the star, but it landed at her feet. The artist didn’t even try to reach for it. She still sat stiff and in silence as tears began to leak from her wide eyes. The second he saw her crying, Victor’s mouth was on hers, their hands still interlocked. Ophelia barely responded to the kiss. “I’m so sorry.” Victor wrapped his arms around her in an emotional embrace. “I promised and I lied. I didn’t think this would happen. I’m so, so sorry.” Tears rolled down Ophelia’s face and Victor tried to wipe them off. “Are you going to be alright?” Ophelia didn’t answer, more tears pouring down her face. “Ophelia, are you going to be okay?” Her eyes were on his face, but she was somewhere else. Victor moved his hands to her shoulders. “Are you okay? Ophelia? Please, just tell me you’ll be alright.” She didn’t respond. “Ophelia, please-” “Time’s up, lover boy.” Chef Hatchet appeared from behind the stage and pulled Victor towards the Red Carpet of Shame. “Please, no! I need to stay for just a little longer!” Victor didn’t look away from Ophelia. “Please don’t make me go!” Chef threw him into the hearse and he leaned out. “Parting is such sweet sorrow!” The large man slammed the door on the actor's face and the car drove off. When the hearse was out of sight, Ophelia’s tears turned to absolute sobbing. She collapsed to her knees and put her face in her hands, making a horrible noise behind her palms. Her teammates could only watch in horror, some calling her name but never getting an answer. “Hey, nice job today!” Angel clapped Allison on the shoulder and she grinned with pride. “It was nothing. I couldn’t have done it without help.” The pair had just returned from doing the dishes and now stood outside the open door to Allison’s room. “None from me, of course. All I did was lose again.” Angel said. “The last time I did well in the game was the singing challenge.” “You’re just saying that. You’re doing fine.” “No, really. I haven’t done well since we wrote that song about Camille.” Allison gave him a lopsided grin. “What does that say about us as a team?” Angel smiled back. “I’d say-” “Hey, Angel!” Isaac leaned out from his door down the hall, catching the pyromaniac’s attention. “Can I talk to you?” Angel looked back to Allison. “Looks like I’m needed.” He left her standing alone outside her room. Allison glared at Isaac, though he didn’t notice. She stomped into her room and slammed the door. She then fell back onto her bed, gritting her teeth to bite back her frustration. “You don’t like Isaac, do you?” Avery asked from where she sat on her own bed with a magazine on her lap. Allison noticed her roommate there and turned away from her. “It’s not that I don’t like him, it’s just-” “You don’t like that Angel likes him better. I get it.” Avery closed her tabloids nonchalantly. “You know, I don’t like Isaac either. And I think we worked together pretty well in the challenge today…” There was a pause as Allison let the underlying meaning of what Avery was saying sink in. Eventually she turned to face her roommate. “…I’m listening.” A smirk curled onto Avery’s lips. “Good….” The Emmys had lingered at the Team’s Choice Awards amphitheater, frozen by Ophelia’s behavior. Ten minutes had passed, but the artist was still on the ground bawling. One by one they began to leave. First it was Chris, then Sebastian, then Monique, then Risty and Minerva. Wes said something to Donna, but ended up leaving as well. This left only the smart aleck to watch as her roommate slowly fell even farther apart. She slid onto the ground beside Ophelia, sitting there for a few minutes. Ophelia was a pale, weeping piece of a girl beside her, her hair thrown over her face and her body shuddering with sobs. Donna eventually pulled her friend towards her in an awkward attempt at an embrace. Ophelia didn’t feel it. Ophelia couldn’t feel anything because Ophelia wasn’t present anymore. She didn’t know where she was or why she was there. She had lost who she was. All she knew was that something was missing. “It… it’ll be okay.” Donna soothed the mess that was once her roommate. “Everything will be okay.” She always was a good liar. <<< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >>>